Its 2019! Its Carers awareness Week! It’s the
week to celebrate all thing Carers! It’s time we connected with those amazing
carers! The mix is home to very few carers, but that doesn’t stop us from being
amazing at what we do and needing to break down the barriers of isolation and
needing to stay connected with people of a similar age. Carers are more likely to
slip through the system if there isn’t an open place for them to talk about the
roles and get the support, its why there has been a lot of support being put up
on the boards recently to help carers get a voice.
-------
So, lets dive into this year’s topic which is
Getting Carers Connected!
-------
Young Carers System/groups
The young carers groups are a wonderful thing
and a lifeline to young carers growing up. It keeps carers connected and
reduces the isolating carers feel. Here are 2 statements from 2 carers
who have been in the system, each have had different experiences. Their
experience doesn’t mean you will experience the same.
**Please note this are our experience don’t
let this put you off going to a session**
“I’ve been in the local young carers system for 4 years this summer, although I’ve been a carer for 6 years. I was offered so many new opportunities upon joining the service. After just my second year of being with them I was given the chance to go to the young carers festival, without this I would never have been given the experience of camping in a field. More recently I was picked out of a small group to go to London as part of the young adult carers Easter trip. We’re given the chance to meet up with other Young Carers of similar ages. We are also offered Monthly clubs which allow us to spend a few hours away from home getting a bit of our childhood back that we missed.” – Aimee
“I was in the system for a year and in that time, I had some positives I went to carers festival, had trips out and meet other who was carers but all while I was in the system, I was a volunteer without signing up for the role. I was settling people into the group, making sure they were okay, helping them with homework, talking to them about how to get support outside of the group. This wasn’t helpful for me it; I was meant to be at the group to get time out from caring for others instead I was looking after other people. I left the group not on good terms with the some of the leaders. I was alone and isolated again.” – Abi
The point we hold is each person experience is
different. Each group are different due to funding, some groups are
supported by regular funding such as County council and some are run
solely by volunteers and rely heavily on public and private donations, also how
far each group has to cover has a big impact. In some areas there are multiple
groups running whereas in others there is 1 group which has to support all
the young carers in the area.
Online vs in person
As a writer I want to share all ways carers
can stay connected as 8 out of 10 carers describe themselves as lonely or
socially isolated. I want to break down the stigma to being connected. Most
believe being connected you have to see people face-to-face and get out of the
house. Studies have proved that carers who stay connected online are more
likely to continue fighting and feel more supported than the once a week or
once a term some carers get from local services. Before carers trust dropped
their online services each service Babble, Matter and Carers Group (supported
adult carers) team each help many people and opened up the line of contact for
many carers who can’t make it out to coffee mornings. As the digital world
improves and robots learn to the ironing but one job that can’t be done by
robots is supporting our family as the demands on the NHS will be growing so
the support for young carers will increase.
Online
+ You take away the physical eye contact and
awkwardness.
+ Support on a regular basis without having to
make an appointment.
+ Meet other who are similar age.
- You have to share the time with others.
- Might not be heard fully.
- Feel like people don’t truly understanding
how hard it is for you.
In person
+ More information can be passed on.
+ You can feel and understood.
+ Your aware that you’re not the only one who
is a carer.
- Due to the high demands on staff carers can
go months without seeing someone.
- People can slip through the system without
being noticed.
- There is more planning required in a face to
face which might stop carer from seeking the support.
Activities that can be done at young carers
There are a wide variety and range of
activities that can be done at young carers and I’m going to run you through
some of the main ones you may come across in your service.
***these are trips
that my local young carers service run that I am using as example, your service
may or may not run these trips***
- Clubs/Groups where you might:
- Cooking
- Play outdoor games in the summer
- Listening to music
- Socialize with other young carers Around your
age
- A chance to speak to a YC member of staff if
something is troubling you
Day Trips during a weekend or School Holiday
such as:
- Going to the seaside
- To the cinema
- To a local theme park
- Visit a local University
(this is more aimed at the top age range for a young carer around 13/14 up to
18)
- Bowling, swimming and
trampolining parks.
- Local Farm park (Aimed at that primary school
carers)
Finally, a lot of young carers services across
the UK sometimes take a small group of young carers from about age 12 up to 17
to the young carers festival which runs in Southampton normally in the last
weekend of June.
Young
adult/adult carers groups
Going into unknown territory here young adult
carers activities. Most young adult carers group we are aware of join the adult
service. These 2 groups often run:
- Coffee mornings
- Hospitality therapy
- Day trips such as:
- Theatre
- boat
trips
- Trips
to other towns
- Masquerade balls
- Markets
- Quiz days
These are a mix of statistic on likeliness to
feeling lonely and becoming lonely
Resources
- Carers who had felt lonely or isolated were almost twice as likely to report worsened mental (77%) and physical (67%) health.
- Regular breaks from caring roles (57%)
- More understanding from society (52%)
- Being able to take part in leisure activities (40%)
- Being able to take part in leisure activities (40%)
- Support paying for social activities (31%)
- More understanding at work (30%)
- Being in touch with other carers (29%)
- Feeling more able to talk to friends and family (23%)
- Being able to take part in education or training (21%
- certain caring circumstances are linked to lonelier care experiences, such as younger carers under 24 years old (89%)
- carers of disabled children (93%),
- people who care for 50 hours or more per week (86%)
- ‘sandwich carers’ who look after loved ones alongside parenting responsibilities (86%).
This year’s topic is so important, as modern technology gets better we
need to keep connecting to those around us in new ways if that is through a
group chat online like what the mix offers with group chats or even chat
between a friends over Facebook, simple things like that can reduce loneliness
within carers.
I want to leave you with 1 thought, how can you help someone feel less lonely today?
Resource from the mix and whats on the board:
